Hydraulic drive means for washing machines and the like



May 28, 1957 A. J. PATCH 2,793,499

HYDRAULIC DRIVE MEANS FOR WASHING MACHINES AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 18,1953 4 Sheets-Sheet l I INVENTOR.

Allen .ffizfalz, Deceased,

Waxy

A. J. PATCH -May 28, 1957 mDRAuLIc DRIVE MEANS FOR WASHING MACHINES ANDTHE LIKE Filed Sept. 1s, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Allen JPaicz,

INVENTOR.

a r. my 1 P M M May 28, 1957 A. J. PATCH 2,793,499

HYDRAULIC DRIVE usms FOR WASHING MACHINES AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. is,1955 4 Shets-Sheet 3 flyflull: Mibiclz lxecu trix,

Amman y 23, 1957 A. J. PATCH 2,793,499

HYDRAULIC DRIVE MEANS FOR WASHING MACHINES AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 18.1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. Allen, 7.1%: fclz fleseasezi,

192mm Mann, Ermztrix,

United States Patent" HYDRAULIC DRIVE MEANSFOR WASHING MACHINES ANDTHELIKE Allen JL'Patch, deceased, late of 'Ripon, Wis, by Ruth M. 1 Patch,executn'x, Ripon, Wis assignor, by decree of distribution; to' Edna h;Patch Applicatiom SeptemberalS, .1953, Serial No; 381,028..

9 Claims. (Cl. oil-52) and with-which fitted? operating parts willyieldto: compensate for wear. or changes in. temperature. and :the like.

Another. objectisto' providemeans so that:the supply of.-liqr lid.undertpressure. to the operating parts can be controlledtto. stop andvar-y thecontrol and operation of theagitator. shaft.

Still: another purpose is to provide a supporting casing and structureofimetal. or other stampings which can bei inexpensively. produced. andcanbe fittedin place and assembled Without speciahknowledgeqor skill.

Anothenpurpose. is to provide control= or operating meansby whichthe.oscillating movement of: the oscillatorshaftbecomes substantiallyautomatic whenthe mechanism is-setfor operation.

A further. objectis tozprovide. meansby which the fluidcontrol..is.preventedfrom goingwon dead center or lockin g when inoperation.

Still. another purpose? isto provide mechanism that can .bemadetandassembled as. a sealed-unit so that this power mechanism..can.bemanufactured. and. SOIdfiS a complete. power. transmission unit. to be.fitted. toindividual Washers and the. like by the. machine.manuiacturers.

Yet another purpose is. to provide amechanism which is simple'andinexpensive in construotionand: assembly, and which can. be assembled insubstantially complete form for various. types. of washing .machines.and. the like requiring no. special construction or. fitting. of thepartsfor individual embodiments and uses.

With. the above and other objects. in. view; some of whichwillQbeapparent .to those skilled in the art and othersof which areinherent in the. construction and op.- eration and use of this drive.means,.the invention includes certain. novelfeatures. of, construction.and combinations'and. arrangement of parts whichwill be. hereinafterset. forth in. connection with the drawings and then pointed out. in theclaims. i

In the drawings:

Figure. 1. isv a view inv elevation of a hydraulic drive meansconstructedin accordance with. an adaptation of the invention, and with:parts sectioned. substantially on the line. 11-1 ofiFig. .5.

Fig, 2 is. a transverse vertical. sectional view taken substantially. onthe line 2-2 of Figure. 1.

Fig. 3 is a. view in. top. elevation of anembodimentcf the inventionshowing control means mounted thereon.

Fig. 4is a horizontal sectional-view substantially on line 4-4"of Fig:1;

Fig: 5 showsa sectional view substantially on line 55" of'lFigure 1; i

Fig; dis. a horizontal transversesectional view through the housing withthe oscillator drive in'one position;

Fig. 7 is a view similar. to Fig. 6 showing another position of" the.parts:

Fig. 8 isa: broken vertical sectionalviewto better show the hydraulicfluid'control'valve and operating means therefor.

Fig. 9 is. a segmental-y sectional viewillustrating a fluid controlvalve.

Fig. 10 is a top planviewof the disclosure in Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 shows a sectional. view substantially on. lines 11.11 of Fig. 9.

Fig. 12 is. a; view similar to Fig. 11 showinganother position oftheparts:

Fig. 13 is a sectional view "substantially on lines 13-13 of Fig. 9..

As. has. been intimated, this invention contemplates the provision of a.hydraulic drivemeans for Washingmachines and the like which can bemanufactured substantially as a completed unit with all parts installedand sealed'so. that the.unit canbe furnished complete to washing machineand other manufacturers for whom it is to be. used;

An upper case member 1,. of pressed sheet metal or other suitablematerialis made. in the desired shape and size and is providedwi'th adepending side wall. A lower case. or pan 2; which canxalso be ofpressed sheet metal or other suitable material, has an upstanding sidewall preferably of greater. extenttthan the side wall of. the uppercasemember 1; Ah intermediate supportingplate 3;.which. can also beof asheet metal stamping, is made to be interposed between the. upper andlower case memhers I and .2, and these case. members 1 and 2 areprovided around the openingsthereinto. with outstanding flanges 4 and.5. Theintermediate plate 3-is made of a size. and shape tofitsubstantially between the outstanding flanges 4 and 5. Thiscase-andsupportingstmcture can be. secured together by the use of rivets orother fastenings 6 received through aligned openings in the flanges 4and 5' and the interposed edge of the intermediate supportingplate 3. Inuse, this case structure is filled with oil, or other suitable hydraulicliquid, and it is of course essential that the parts be precisionfitted. However, asan added precaution it isperhaps desirablethat a sealring 7 be clamped. or. otherwise placed around the edges of theoutstanding flange portions: 4' and 5 and the intermediate edge. of theintermediate supporting plate 3.

The. lower case or pan. 2 will be substantially con-. tinuous andclosed," with theexception that a filling and drainopeningis provided at8. However, a plug 9 is fitted to. close this opening.

A drive shaft 10 is-provided'toextend into this closed casing throughthe top. of the upper case member 1, and an agitator. or transmissionshaft 11 is. also provided. These two shafts are journaled in the casingin substantially parallel felationand are spaced apart so that they willfit withmechanism to. which the drive is to be connected. Anoil'tightand leak-proof bearing packing is provided at- 12. aroundthepower shaft, and the agitator shaft 11 has a-similar bearing.packing, so that in use the casingmadeup. of the. two members 1 and 2 issubstantially oil or. fluid tight and is proof against leakage. Theseshafts 10. and.11. can be made to extend beyond the upper casingl, forany desired distance, and are provided at theirends withsuch formationsthat usual connections can be made. to the. shaft. 10,.from a motorpulley or other suitabledrive, andfrom the. shaft 11 to an agitator. Theintermediate supporting plate3 has suitable bearing openings, preferablypacked to be leak-proof, through which the shafts 10 and 11 extend intothe space within the lower case or pan.

The intermediate supporting plate 3 has a-case supporting plate disposedtherebeneath and conveniently held in place by being clamped between theflanges 4 and 5, and this casing supporting plate 13 is adapted tosuspend a pump casing 14 and an operating casing 15 within the spaceenclosed by the lower case or pan 2. It has been found advantageous tomake the pump casing 14 and the operating casing 15 of nylon or otherplastic that can be moulded and worked to the desired dimensions, andthese casings are perhaps best shown in Fig. of the drawings. By usingthe material as stated, these casings can be moulded or die cast intothe desired shapes and will not require a great amount of machining orother work in the finishing. In'fact, such moulded parts have been foundto be sufliciently perfect that they may not require machine finishingand the like.

As shown in Figures 1 and 4, intermediate supporting plate'3 has aliquid circulating opening 16 therethrough,

and the pump casing, as perhaps best shown in Fig. 5,

is supported beneath this opening so that liquid confined within thecasing can fiow through this opening freely into the pump casing 14, thepump casing being provided with an outlet opening 17 below theintermediate supporting plate 3. The pump casing 14, of nylon or othersuitable material, is provided with an outstanding flange at its upperedge, and a supporting flange 18 provided on the casing supporting plateholds this pump casing 14 tightly against the under side of theintermediate supporting plate. A herring bone gear 19 secured on thelower end of the drive shaft meshes with a suitable herring bone gear 20on a bearing spindle 21 within the pump casing 14, and as the driveshaft 10 is rotated through an electric motor or other suitable powermeans, this pump mechanism is operated and oil is taken from the uppercase 1 through the liquid circulating opening 16 into this gear pump andis continuously discharged to the outlet opening 17, under pressure,into the lower case or pan 2.

The operating casing is also preferably made of cast nylon, or othersuitable material, and it has been found that this plastic adapts itselfwell to this use, since the pump casing can be moulded or die cast inone piece and requires little or no machine finishing.

The operating casing 15 is preferably provided with a rim flange 22around its open top, and the casing supporting plate 13 has a casing rimand engaging flange 23 which clamps the operating casing 15 in place andestablishes a liquid tight connection between this casing and theintermediate supporting plate 3. This casing 23 is substantiallycircular in its general outline, and is provided with a valve casing onthat side adjacent to the outlet 17 of the plunp. This valve casing 24is substantially cylindrical and is of such length that it extendsthrough an opening in the intermediate supporting plate 3, projectingabove this plate. The lower endof the agitator shaft 11 extendssubstantially centrally through the easing 15 and is provided with athrust bearing ball 25 which fits within a thrust bearing opening 26, tothus compensate for any downward endwise pressure upon the agitator ortransmission shaft 11. An operating vane or arm structure 27 is providedwith a central portion received on the shaft 11 within the casing 15,and this operating vane or arm which extends substantially radially fromthe agitator or transmission shaft 11 is keyed or splined thereto as at2.8. This operating arm or vane 27 is shaped to fitsuhstantially withinthe operating casing 15 on one side, and at its edges is preferablyprovided with the feather-edge packing 'llanges'29. It is preferablethat this operating vane or arm 27 be made out of nylon, or othersuitable plastic which will resist wear and which will flex sufficientlyin use to assure a substantially liquid tight connection at the edges ofthe packing flanges so that there will not be appreciable loss ofhydraulic pressure 4 use. The operating vane or arm 27 is preferablyprovided with a bearing surface 30 which works upon a packing flange 31on the valve casing 24, this packing flange 31 being of such width thatthe bearing surface clears on each oscillatory movement of the agitatorshaft 11 so that there will be no locking or building up of pressurewithin the casing 15 through the liquid which moves the operating vaneor arm 27.

It is one of the purposes of the present invention to accomplishalternate hydraulic or fluid pressure against opposite sides of theoperating vane or arm 27 so that these will in turn impart oscillatorymovement to the agitator shaft 11-, and it will be seen that as theoperating vane or arm 27 is swung back and forth within the casing 15,this will be accomplished.

To accomplish the desired oscillatory movement of agitator shaft 11,hydraulic or fluid pressure must be applied alternately on oppositesides of the operating vane or arm, and, while fluid pressure is beingapplied on one side the fluid must be exhausted on the opposite side.The alternate exhaust on supply of liquid to the operating vane or arm27 can be accomplished through oscillating valve 32 operably mounted inthe valve casing 24.

As has been stated, this valve casing 24 is substantially cylindricaland has its upper end extending through the intermediate supportingplate 3. Further, the valve casing is preferably at one side within theoperating case 15. A supply passage 33 is provided at one side throughthe Wall of the valve casing 24 so that liquid under pressure can besupplied directly from the pump discharge 17 into this supply passage 33of the valve. This supply passage for hydraulic liquid does not extenddirectly into the operating casing 15, but into the valve casing 24. Thevalve casing 24 is provided on opposite sides, and within the operatingcasing 15, with combination hydraulic liquid supply and exhaust ports 34and 35, which communicate with the interior of operating casing 15 onopposite sides of the supply passage for hydraulic liquid, as at 33.

The oscillating liquid control valve 32 is made mainly hollow throughits center, and is provided on one side with a curved liquid directingwall 36 which will operate or oscillate adjacent to opening 33, thevalve 32 being provided on opposite sides of said curved wall withexhaust ports 37 and 38. As has been stated, the oscillating valve 32 ishollow in its middle portion, and these exhaust ports 37 and 38 enterdirectly into this hollow interior and then exhaust from the upper endof valve casing 24 directly into the space within the uppercase 1. Fromthis space within the case 1, the liquid flows through liquidcirculating opening 16 into the pump and is again placed under pressurewithin the lower case or pan 2 so that it can again enter throughopening 33 to be supplied into the operating casing 15.

In Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawings the parts are shown in twosubstantially opposite operating positions, and in Fig. 5 the parts areshown more or les in the middle position.

It has been found that the oscillating valve 32 and the pump gears 19and 20 can be conveniently made of cast or moulded nylon or otherplastic, and that these parts will require little finishing.

It is necessary that oscillating valve 32 be moved at the properintervals, and this can be accomplished through a valve operating gear39 on the agitator shaft 11, which valve operating gear meshes with avalve operating rack 40. Thus, as the agitator shaft 11 isoscillated thegear 39 will impart movement to the valve operating rack 40 so that thevalve will be properly moved for each interval.

To compensate for differences in movement of the part, it is probablyadvisable that the operating rack and the valve be provided withoperating clearance, so that there is provision for slight overriding ofthe parts. In some instances, it may be found that there will bepossibility past the operating vane or arm 27 when the structure is inof the valve operating rack 40 becoming locked or in operative on deadcenter, and. to; guard against: such occurrences, it. is. advisablethat. fluid: pressure t operated startingmeans be provided... a a

As shown in. Big. 4., the. valveoperating rack. has an arm 42 extendingtherefrom, whicharm will be. swung toropposite .sides as. the rack. 40is operated. A piston. 43 is connected at onelfind pivotallyy with. thisarm 42, and has its opposite endfi'tted within a cylinder 44. Thiscyl-inder44 has itsouterend mounted'rotatably upon a liquid supplynipple 45, which nipple is connected and extended to receive liquidunder pressure from the space within the lower case or pan 2, a branchopening 46 being provided to conduct liquid from said liquid supplynipple 45 to the outer end of the cylinder 44. These parts are perhapsbest shown in Figs. 4 and 8.

It will of course be understood that the oscillating valve 32 is closelyfitted within its casing, and that suitable packing rings or packinggrooves and ribs can be provided to assure that thesupply of liquid willbe controlled. As the liquid is under pressure from the pump structure,within the lower case or pan, it will be appreciated that the parts willproperly operate at all times. After the liquid has been used it willescape into the space of the upper case 1, but will again be takenthrough opening 16 to the pump and will be brought to the properpressure for operation of the parts. Of course, filling and renewal ofliquid can be accomplished through the filling and drain'opening at 8,and the plug will assure that proper retention of liquid isaccomplished.

With the parts constructed and operating in the manner set forth, thepump shaft is continuously rotated from the motor or other power means,and in consequence the pump is continuously operated to generate fluidpressure within the lower case or pan 2. It is desirable that means beprovided to regulate the fluid pressure and to entirely cut this off sothat the speed of operation can be controlled, and the operation of the,parts oscillating the agitator shaft 11 can be stopped.

With the above in mind, there are provided butterfly openings orpassages 47 through the intermediate supporting plate 3, at a pointspaced away from theoperating parts, and also there is provided anopening intermediate these butterfly openings.

A bearing pin 48 is fitted upwardly through the hearing openingintermediate the butterfly openings or passages, and at its lower endhas a cross key on its head, this cross key 49 being held by a member 50to prevent rotation of the bearing pin 48. At its upper end, the bearingpin is provided to extend considerably above top plate 1 or the uppercase and is screw threaded, as at 51.

A valve spool 52 is fitted to revolve on the bearing pin 48 above theintermediate plate 3, and is provided with valve extensions 53 which aresufficiently large to entirely cover over the butterfly openings orpassages. The valve spool 52 has its upper end extended through aflanged opening in the top of the upper case member 1, and an O-ringpacking 54 is provided to prevent leakage of liquid from the space ofthe upper case. A coiled spring 55 is fitted upon the upper end of thebearing pin and is adjustably held by a nut 56 turned onto the screwthreaded portion 51, so that the bearing of the valve extensions 53against the upper side of the intermediate plate 3 can be adjusted.

With this mechanism, the valve spool 52 can be adjusted so that thevalve extensions open and close the butterfly openings or passage 47 tothe degree desired. In other words, by rotation of the spool 52 thevalve extensions 53 can be moved so that they will entirely open thebutterfly openings or passages 47, and will close these to any degree.In this way, the pressure of liquid within the lower case or pan 2 assupplied to the operating mechanism in the operating casing 15 can becontrolled.

While turning of the valve spool 52 can be accomplishedin various-ways;there .hassbeenshown a bearing structure 57 as mounted on the top ofthe: upper case 1.. A. worm; gear'f5811 isIsectrted. totl'ie valve;spool and is. heldi against axial; movement by the hearing; structure.An operating worm 59 is journaled in the bearing structure, and has anoperating shaft 60 extending therefrom. As may be desired; this sl'iatitdtl can be extended to any point that may; be necessaryfor control; ofthe parts. From, the foregoing it will be seen that there has beenprovided a structure whichi's capable otibeing, produced in largequantities from standard parts at low cost, and by the use of stampingsand die castings which will not require expensive finishing.

While there has been herein shown and described only one specificembodiment of the invention and there has been suggested only certainpossible modifications, it will be appreciated that many changes andvariations :can be made in the construction and assembly and operationand control of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope ofthis invention.

What is claimed is:

1. Hydraulic drive means comprising a closed upper casing and a closedlower casing, a horizontal plate separating said casings, a pump casinghaving an outlet communicating with said lower casing and an intakecornmunicating with said upper casing through a first hole in saidplate, a pump in said pump casing, an impeller casing having an intakecommunicating with said lower casing and an outlet communicating withsaid upper casing through a second hole in said plate, and an impellerin said impeller casing.

2. Hydraulic drive means as in claim 1, in which said pump and impellercasings are disposed sideby-side immediately below said plate.

3. Hydraulic drive means as in claim 2, in which said pump and impellercasings are both within said second casing.

4. Hydraulic drive means comprising a pump, an impeller casing, animpeller vane in said impeller casing,

a cylindrical valve casing communicating with said pump and selectivelywith either side of said impeller vane, and a valve rotatable in saidvalve casing having an inter-- rupted cylindrical outer contourcomplementary to the interior contour of said valve casing and anarcuately concave contour between the edges of said cylindrical contour.

5. Hydraulic drive means as in claim 4, and means for rotating saidvalve thereby to supply pressure to alternate sides of said vane.

6. Hydraulic drive means comprising a pump, an impeller mounted foroscillatory movement about a first axis, a valve communicating with theoutlet of said pump for regulating delivery of pressure fluid from saidpump to said impeller and mounted for movement about a second axis,means interconnecting said impeller and valve for simultaneous movementin opposite directions about their respective axes, and means applying aunidirectional torque to said valve when said impeller is on dead centerthereby to avoid stalling of said impeller on dead center.

7. Hydraulic drive means as in claim 6 in which said last named meanscomprises fluid pressure means communicating with the outlet of saidpump and acting eccentrically on said valve when said impeller is ondead center.

8. Hydraulic drive means comprising a pair of closed casings, a plateseparating said casings, said plate comprising one wall of each of saidcasings, a pump casing having an outlet communicating with one of saidpair of casings and an intake communicating with the other of said pairof casings through a first hole in said plate, a pump in said pumpcasing, an impeller casing having an intake communicating with said onecasing and an outlet communicating with said other casing through asecond hole in said plate, and an impeller in said impeller casing.

9. Hydraulic drive means as in claim 8, in which said plate comprisesone wall of said pump and impeller cas ings.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 3.Sturm Sept. 5, 1933 Lum Mar. 5, 1935 Collingham Dec. 24, 1935 KirbyNov. 22, 1938 Maloon Feb. 8, 1944 Patch Dec. 30, 1952

